Employers are seeking quality skilled labor. Then, retaining the talent for the foreseeable future.
Job applicants are either over-qualified or do not meet the minimum position requirements.
Recruiters have a difficult time finding quality young talent.
Employers rely upon passive and typical candidate seeking methods.
Employees tend to leave within 18-24 months of their hiring.
Job applicants are either over-qualified or do not meet the minimum position requirements. Applicant pools are flooded with job-seekers who either have no experience or don’t meet the minimum needs, or are so qualified the employer cannot compensate them accordingly.
Recruiters have a difficult time finding quality young talent. The greatest challenge of the past decade was the unavailability of a skilled labor force. While it was always there, employers were not able to identify and tap into those young people.
Employers rely upon passive and typical candidate seeking methods. Most employers assume placing a job advertisement and/or attending career fairs would result in finding their dream applicants.
Employees tend to leave within 18-24 months of their hiring. New hires, for various reasons, leave their positions for other jobs after a brief time with their current employers.
Young people seeking jobs in the aerospace industry face hazardous job-seeking challenges.
Candidates have no or poor career guidance.
Candidates lack basic career readiness skills.
Candidates have spent significant time learning their trade, but limited time applying them. Candidates possess strong hard skills, but do not now how to showcase them. Candidates do not know how to find the right positions.
Candidates have no or poor career guidance. High school and college students either do not access the career development resources available to them on campus or do not know they exist. As a result, they’re unprepared to take initial steps following graduation.
Candidates lack basic career readiness skills. Young job-seekers do not possess the basic readiness skills and tools. Their resumes do not feature proper information, lack considerable information, or do not accurately describe their education, experiences, and skills.
Candidates have spent significant time learning their trade, but limited time applying them. Job-seekers may know their craft, but have not practiced them outside the classroom or in an employment setting. Reasons for this may vary but, the biggest reason is that they never been employed in a role that allows them to apply their hard skills knowledge.
Candidates possess strong hard and soft skills, but do not now how to showcase them. Many young people do not know how to properly articulate their skills, interests, experiences, and career goals in written (resume) and verbal (networking, interviewing) formats. They may have all the qualities sought in new hires, but find difficulty branding themselves.
Candidates do not know how to find the right positions. Most job-seekers rely entirely upon the internet to look for jobs.
Candidates and Employers face similar challenges when making important employment decisions. Readiness Tools Mentors
CANDIDATES
Job Openings Face-to-Face Interactions Recruiting Solutions
EMPLOYERS
Access to Information Introductions/Connections Understanding Needs & Wishes
Guiding young people towards aerospace careers. For four years, our Futures in Aerospace program has been connecting students to the aerospace industry, aviation executives, and college and career opportunities. At the root of the program, students obtain an understanding of their hard and soft skills, articulate those skills on their resumes, share the skills and passions through face-to-face interactions, and develop strong relationships with aviation leaders. The program addresses workforce shortages in many ways, including: • Empowering a new generation of aviation experts and leaders. • Awarding scholarships to students attending collegiate and specialty instruction. • Fostering 100% of hiring from local and nearby locations. • Conducting career-readiness programs for high school and college students, recent graduates looking for employment, and those seeking career changes. • Hosting networking receptions, fostering connections between aviation executives and recruiters to job and internship-seeking students. Central to the success of the Futures in Aerospace program is understanding the needs of everyone involved. Recruiting ideal speakers requires understanding each student’s career interests, career planning gaps, year in school, and skills. At the same time, it’s vital to recognize the overall aerospace climate, availability of industry resources, hiring needs and interests of aerospace companies, and the economic and workforce outlooks. Pathways to Aviation is on a mission to prevent aerospace workforce shortages from adversely affecting local communities, states, our Nation, and the world.
Achieving success in coaching and connections. 2016 The Reno Air Racing Foundation adopts a fresh vision, the aerospace workforce. It also creates a new dba, Pathways to Aviation.
2017 Pathways to Aviation designs and beta tests a career mentoring workshop program for eight local high school students.
2018 Under an official program name, the Futures in Aerospace program is expanded to two locations...the Reno-Tahoe International Airport and the Truckee Tahoe Airport. The program grows to 81 students.
2019 The career mentoring series expands to three locations by adding the Carson Airport. The number of students swells to 104 students, representing 25 schools.
2020 The program continues at the three airports, featuring a great increase in the number of industry experts as workshop presenters. As the workshops were being conducted, Pathways to Aviation has quietly been designing ways to provide the information and connections to students who are not able to make the workshops. These young men and women have financial or transportation limitations, after-school programs, sports and special event obligations, or family needs preventing them from attending workshops. Similarly, students living in rural areas are not able to participate.
Numbers paint a clear picture. Employer Wishes
Desired Career Specialties Pilot (Fixed Wing) Engineering Mechanics Technology Unmanned Aerial Systems Avionics Pilot (Helicopter) Flight Attendant Management Sales & Marketing
58.72% 50.58% 35.47% 30.23% 29.07% 28.49% 23.26% 13.37% 11.63% 9.88%
Participant Breakdown
Locally and nationally-based companies seek quality talent to fill entry-level to middle management positions. However, they find difficulty in locating quality talent. Based on conversations with many employers, we believe the following to be true: • 100% of employers seek talent with applicable experience and hard skills; • 100% of employers seek new hires possessing solid soft skills, including critical thinking, dependability, integrity, problem-solving, and honesty. 73.2% High School Students 8.9% College Students 17.9% Graduates & Workforce Ready
2019 Workshops Takeaways •
• • • •
4 internships offered 75% of surveyed students plan to pursue careers in aviation. 100% of students felt more confident to pursue jobs in any industry. 100% of surveyed professionals noted that students were prepared for the big networking receptions. In just three networking events, the names of 211 participants were submitted to formally pursue professional relationships.
Pre-Workshop Career Planning wishes, according to students... Meeting Experts Attending Workshops Learning Networking Skills Learning Interviewing Skills Adding References Receiving Mentorship Learning Resume Skills
87.5% 82.8% 67.1% 62.5% 60.9% 59.3% 46.8%
Creating a new recruiting standard. Student Testimonials...
Industry Testimonials…
“I really enjoyed how we were able to meet people that we otherwise would not have known how to contact. It was very helpful and offered many opportunities to us that we didn’t even know existed.“
“The students were very well prepared to discuss their goals and ambitions and they asked very good questions. The variety of professionals from throughout the industry was amazing.”
“I really just appreciated that there are people willing to support and educate high school students going into a professional field. I really appreciate the fact that students have such a wonderful resource!”
“Thank you for the opportunity to participate. I have a huge respect for what you're doing and this program.”
“It taught me many skills such as formatting a resume, elevator pitch, and how to succeed in an interview.”
“The event was very inspiring and well planned out. I think the future in aviation is great with the students who are part of your program.” “I am extremely impressed with how prepared a lot of those kids were. This is definitely making a difference in many ways. Great work. “
The Futures in Aerospace program is successful thanks to outstanding financial supporters, particularly: ISTAT Foundation - E.L. Cord Foundation ROAA (Renegades of Aviation Aficianados) - Martis Camp Community Foundation Sierra Aero - Click Bond - Truckee Tahoe Airport District
Pathways to Aviation provides solutions to the aviation industry’s growing workforce needs by informing, inspiring, and engaging its future labor force.
Pathways to Aviation PO Box 21433 Reno, Nevada 89515 info@PathwaysToAviation.org www.PathwaysToAviation.org